I'm sorry that it is so late, not because I am late, but rather because the extra time I spent on it doesn't show. I took the time to finish it at all, not just to make it nice. I wish I had time to polish it, but I don't, so here it is, in a manner of speaking.
Destruction
A game. That was it. Some stupid contest. He had been fighting all this time in some sort of tournament. But all was not lost, as this tournament was clearly of Separatist or Alliance origins. Ether way, Xzeno would stop them. He didn't want to play the game anymore, but it looked like he would have to play another round, as his opponent was barreling towards him with a blade at the ready. Xzeno calmly reached for his revolver, which he didn't have. He tried not to panic as he went for his shotgun, but the huge human tackled him. Xzeno was trained in military martial arts, but he was no match for the human. The man held pressed Xzeno to the ground and lifted his sword to stab Xzeno. That one threw up a hand to block the stab, and let out an ear-splitting scream as the blade pierced his flesh and bone. Blood poured from the wound, hot and fast, as the man pulled the toothed blade out of Xzeno's hand for a second strike. Xzeno raised his shotgun with his good hand and fired blindly at the man. He hit the man's bad arm, but it was enough to throw him off. Xzeno stood up and wiped the blood out of his eyes. The man was also steadying himself, as he was bleeding badly -and not without cause- for the shotgun blast had been at quite close range. Nevertheless, the hulking human beared down on Xzeno, who pulled the trigger on his shotgun. Only this time, it would not fire! He hadn't reloaded the thing since his fight with the mouther. With a great cry, the man swung his sword so that he might decapitate Xzeno. That one ducked just in time and reached for his beamsword. The human swung the blade around for another attack. Xzeno threw his beamsword up to block just in time. This action not only protected Xzeno, but the man knocked him back with the force of the blow, giving Xzeno the extra range he needed. He fired his grenade launcher with mixed results, as he was using only one hand. He missed the human, but the explosion knocked the man off his feet. Xzeno tried to aim another shot. He totally missed this time, and the bloody hulk of a man righted himself once again. Xzeno decided his best bet would be to engage the human in a sword fight. Xzeno charged at the human, swinging for the knees. The human tried to eviscerate his arm, but his shield deflected the blow. Xzeno managed to clip the human's leg, rewarding him with a spray of blood, blinding him. The human capitalized on this by slapping the beamsword out of Xzeno's hand with the flat of his. He then struck Xzeno across the stomach, causing no injury, but shorting out his shield. Xzeno fell down and tried to come up with a plan. He was starting to feel light-headed from blood loss. The only plan he could think of was âshotgun!â, but that plan was not prone to failure. He started to put a shell into his shotgun, but the human had other plans. He loomed above Xzeno, a tower of blood and rage*, and made to impale Xzeno. That one rolled out of the way just in time, forcing the shell into his weapon. This time, he'd aim for the head. And aim he did. Unfortunately, the human ducked as he brought the gun up, causing his would-be fatal shot to miss its mark completely. The man righted himself once again and made for Xzeno, sword hand forward. Xzeno instantly knew what to do. He just followed a simple formula: Problem X arises, he uses a shotgun until it isn't a problem anymore. Though he was out of shells, he could still whack the man with the butt of the gun. He swung with the intent to kneecap the huge man, but the human tried to block the blow. He succeeded, but Xzeno knocked the sword out of his hand. Thinking Xzeno was too injured to respond, he scrabbled after the fallen sword. Xzeno had other plans. He lifted himself off of the ground, and â" with heroic effort â" he bashed Ding [pun intended] on the back of the head. The man fell down prone, and Xzeno tried again to reload his shotgun. This time he was less successful, as Dingsly immediately punched him in the face. Xzeno had been punched before, but not like that. He stumbled back a few feet, barely staying on his feet. Instead of capitalizing on the situation by pounding Xzeno to a bloody pulp, Dingsly went for his sword, still lying about ten feet away. Xzeno jumped after him, grabbing one of his legs. Dingsly feel forward, still going for his sword. Xzeno tried to get closer to the man's head. He climbed up to club the man on the head, but Dingsly almost had his weapon. Xzeno, despairing for his life, struck the human on the hand that war reaching for the sword with the butt of his gun. The human screamed in agony, throwing Xzeno away from him and clutching his injured hand. Xzeno took the opportunity to secure the man's sword. It was heavier than Xzeno expected, and he was briefly caught off guard by the heavy metal. Dingsly used the opportunity to punch Xzeno, in the stomach this time. Xzeno swore he could feel his squeedily-squooch** coming up through his nose, but he not only remained standing but he also made an attack on the human with his own weapon. Dingsly caught the blow in the ribs, but Xzeno stopped before he did any serious damage. Dingsly wasn't dead, but he was covered in blood and had more than a few broken bones. He knew when he was beat.
"You are a formidable opponent; I have met my match." said Dingsly formally.
"Yeah, whatever. Just give me your shirt to patch myself up. I'm practically sweatin' blood over here." said Xzeno, looking at his left hand, which had been run through completely with the sword.
Dingsly was surprised by Xzeno's brash nature, but he handed over the shirt regardless. Xzeno wrapped his hand in the cloth before further acknowledging the man's existence.
"Hey human, do you know what a gun is?" said Xzeno, looking for the grenade launcher he had cast aside during the fight.
"A what?" said Dingsly.
"What about..." said Xzeno, wishing he had studied more history in his misspent youth. "An energy cannon? No, those were after guns. Didn't last long. How about a crossbow?"
"I know what a crossbow is!" said Dingsly defensively.
"Oh good!" said Xzeno, holding out his grenade launcher. "Then take this. It's like a crossbow, except it has six shots and should only be used when every last [gentleman] in the room absolutely has to die."***
"Ah. Thanks?" said Dingsly, reaching for the weapon hesitantly. "Is it safe?"
"If it was safe, I wouldn't be carrying it!" said Xzeno, laughing. "Now are you OK? I have things to do besides look after you."
"I don't need you to look after me." said Dingsly, now patching up his own wounds.
"Oh good. Try to find a dude named Charlie, if you can." said Xzeno, loading a full nine shells into his shotgun. "And if he's dead, see if you can't get me his stuff. He has my revolver. Good luck, I'm gone." And with that, Xzeno walked away from Dingsly, shotgun slung over his shoulder, dreading what ever challenges awaited him.
* 10 points if you catch the reference. [Easy]
** 5 point reference. [Very Easy]
*** This reference is worth a good 100 points! [Very Hard]
Win some bonus points!
